BlueOval Charge Network expands Plug & Charge to IONNA and Ford Charge

[Ford Motor Company]

Some news coming out of our charging team - they're excited to announce that the BlueOval Charge Network is expanding Plug & Charge access to IONNA and Ford Charge, with more networks to come next year.

As many of you know, Plug & Charge is the easiest way to pay for charging – simply plug in and with your BlueOval Charge Network account, your payment will be handled automatically.

This expands the list of networks that support Plug & Charge technology, which already includes Electrify America, EVolve NY, and Tesla Superchargers.

IONNA​

Since joining the BlueOval Charge Network earlier this year, IONNA has continued adding more 400 kW chargers at a growing list of Rechargeries across the US. With more than 1,100 fast chargers open or under construction and plans to grow to over 30,000 by 2030, as IONNA grows, so does your ability to get charged up with the simplicity of Plug & Charge. Starting today, all IONNA chargers support Plug & Charge for Ford vehicles through the BlueOval Charge Network.

Ford Charge​

With over 1,200 chargers at more than 330 Ford dealerships across the US and Canada, Plug & Charge will make getting charged up with Ford Charge even easier. Plug & Charge is available at select Ford Charge dealers today, and will be expanding to all Ford Charge dealers by early 2026. Until then, check the Ford app to verify if the location is Plug & Charge enabled, and pay with the Ford app at locations that haven’t received Plug & Charge yet.

Looking Ahead​

Plug & Charge will further expand to additional BlueOval Charge Network partners - including Shell Recharge. Keep checking the Ford app to see which BlueOval Charge Network stations are Plug & Charge capable.

Additionally, there is some extra Plug & Charge news for Canadian customers – starting now, Canadian customers who cross the border have access to Electrify America chargers within the BlueOval Charge Network for the first time, including with Plug & Charge!

With this exciting announcement, the list of BlueOval Charge Network partners now includes 21 networks which can be activated with the Ford app – of which 6 also support the simplicity of Plug & Charge:

• BC Hydro
• Blink
• bp pulse
• ChargePoint
• ChargeSmart EV
• Circuit Électrique
• Electrify America (supports Plug & Charge)
• EV Connect
• EVgo
• EVolve NY (supports Plug & Charge)
• FLO
• Ford Charge (supports Plug & Charge)
• FPL EVolution
• Francis Energy
• InCharge
• IONNA (supports Plug & Charge)
• Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging
• Pilot Flying J
• Red E
• Shell Recharge (Plug & Charge coming soon to select locations)
• Tesla Superchargers (supports Plug & Charge)

As a reminder, when you’re at a charger, you can use your BlueOval Charge Network account to start charging in two ways:

• Plug & Charge (at supported network partners)
• Ford mobile app activation (at all network partners)

If you’re not enrolled in BlueOval Charge Network, you can quickly enroll from the Ford app at no cost – just tap Connected Services.

Happy charging!

- Brian (not AI) from Ford, and (more importantly) the king of charging himself, @Charge_Rob

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[NikonJim]

I used Plug and Charge with Ionna last weekend. Worked great.

 

[dr1983]

circle k charge in california can be used to

 

[jbassett]

While I love plug and charge, and I use it when I'm doing short trips, not supporting discount memberships is really burdensome. I don't go on many long trips, but I'm going on a 2,400 mile trip soon and need to disable plug and charge so that I can use a membership to get a discount when charging. If plug and charge had it's own discount, even if it wasn't as much as with a direct membership, I would happily leave it on. But when the cost per kWh is doubled because I'm using plug and charge I'm out.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

While I love plug and charge, and I use it when I'm doing short trips, not supporting discount memberships is really burdensome. I don't go on many long trips, but I'm going on a 2,400 mile trip soon and need to disable plug and charge so that I can use a membership to get a discount when charging. If plug and charge had it's own discount, even if it wasn't as much as with a direct membership, I would happily leave it on. But when the cost per kWh is doubled because I'm using plug and charge I'm out.

100% fair feedback and something the team is very aware of. I do the same thing myself (when it makes sense).

 

[Charge_Rob]

While I love plug and charge, and I use it when I'm doing short trips, not supporting discount memberships is really burdensome. I don't go on many long trips, but I'm going on a 2,400 mile trip soon and need to disable plug and charge so that I can use a membership to get a discount when charging. If plug and charge had it's own discount, even if it wasn't as much as with a direct membership, I would happily leave it on. But when the cost per kWh is doubled because I'm using plug and charge I'm out.

You don't need to disable Plug & Charge to get any paid discount, if you activate with the app you prefer before you plug in. I've done this probably a hundred times at both EA and Tesla without any issues.

But absolutely noted, both Brian and I have encountered this as drivers, we're not ignoring that frustration, we just don't have anything to announce on that today.

 

[jbassett]

we just don't have anything to announce on that today.

Hopefully we can be even more excited in the (near?) future then!

 

[K6CCC]

Now we just need to get some Ionna stations here in the western US. PlugShare.com lists several dozen but all are not built yet.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

But when the cost per kWh is doubled because I'm using plug and charge I'm out.

Wow, who gives a 50% discount with membership? EA and Tesla only give about 25%.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

You don't need to disable Plug & Charge to get any paid discount, if you activate with the app you prefer before you plug in.

Agreed Rob but I have run into the issue a few times where there's a hiccup in the charger activation sequence or a charger stops and restarts. In those cases, a charge session I expected to get the discount went on Plug & Charge and didn't get the discount.

If I'm on a long road trip with lots of charging sessions, I do the same as the OP to avoid unhappy accidents.

 

[richguy82]

Well that’s some good timing! I have my first long, multiple stop trip coming up, and I have my first Ionna stop planned as well!

 

[MountainAlive]

I was just at a dealership to charge yesterday (Stoneham Ford in MA) and I assumed it would be plug and charge but it wasn’t. But I relearned that blue oval and plug and charge are two different things.

 

[hturnerfamily]

While I love plug and charge, and I use it when I'm doing short trips, not supporting discount memberships is really burdensome.

while I understand and empathize with the annoyance, you have to understand that the BlueOval Network has nothing to do with rates, and the PlugNCharge option is simply an extension of Ford's software activation of the station...
When it comes to rates, you are subject to the charge providers rules, no matter what vehicle you are plugging in, whether PlugNCharge, or not... but, when you do use PlugNCharge, you are basically saying that you want to use FORD as your initiator, not the charge station owner/provider. Therefore, their contract with each other will be the rate rule.
When you use the charge provider's APP, in order to get your membership rate, you are then going 'Direct' to them, without the interference with any other entity, such as Ford.

Tesla requires you to use THEIR app, for any membership discount.
ElectrifyAmerica requires you to use THEIR app, for any membership discount.
The same applies for all.

When you plug in using PlugNCharge to initiate a session, the charge equipment has no idea who you are, and/or what 'membership' you might have. You might assume that they somehow know, or should know, but that may not be part of the agreement or contract between Ford and the station owner.
For reference, I have initiated a charge session, from afar, with my FORD app, for my wife's EV9 to charge - the charge station had no idea if it was 'me', in my LIGHTNING, or who it was, and neither did they care - FORD just passed thru the initiation request, it was granted by the charge owner, and the station started the charge.

I think that we might be spoiled by the hint that TESLA owners 'always' have it easy, and always get their membership rate, but that is ONLY at Superchargers - they are just like us everywhere else - they have to either use the charge owner's dedicated APP, if so, or use PlugNCharge, if available, at the regular rate.

I don't think any of this is 'burdensome', although, yes, we'd love everything to be able to read our minds and do exactly what we are thinking it should do... many gas station brands have deals to use their card at their stations - but, it won't work anywhere else, although you can certainly buy gas at many other places!
My wife'sEV9 came with 1,000kwh of FREE ElectrifyAmerica charging - wow! but, wait for it, you HAVE to use the EA App - if you use PlugNCharge, though, ooops... you will be charged!

 

[hturnerfamily]

I was just at a dealership to charge yesterday (Stoneham Ford in MA) and I assumed it would be plug and charge but it wasn’t. But I relearned that blue oval and plug and charge are two different things.

yes, you are right.

- BlueOval is Ford's automated connection to certain charge station owners/providers in order to allow us owners to initiate a charge session from the FORD App, or the truck, etc., using our own internal Credit card choice on our FORD BlueOval account. Ford also 'bills' us, rather than the station owner. I love this.
You can also use the FORD app to initiate a charge for ANY vehicle, anywhere, whether you are present there, or not - you can even allow someone else to access your FORD App 'account' to do the same, otherwise 'sharing' with someone else.

- PluNCharge is simply the ability, on CERTAIN charge station brands, to plug in to initiate a charge session, allowing FORD to bill you thru your BlueOval account, and is why a membership, if any, with that station provider, is not in play.
I have often found in my many, many DC Fast Charging sessions, that using PlugNCharge might seem simpler, or more efficient, but starting the charge session from the APP seems just as convenient, and maybe even faster - well, as long as you can see, or read, the station number. Don't let me get on a rant about how stations should much more prominently SHOW the station number, clearly and well lit, and RIGHT IN FRONT of your face. Why some, like Tesla, put their's at the very bottom of the pedestal, or on the SIDE away from the vehicle, I'll never know. CHARGEPOINT, with their's on the SCREEN, might be the worst. At least EVgo NAMES their pedestals!

 

[jbassett]

Wow, who gives a 50% discount with membership? EA and Tesla only give about 25%.

Might have been a bit of an embellishment, over my planned trip it would be 28% cheaper to have the membership.

When you plug in using PlugNCharge to initiate a session, the charge equipment has no idea who you are, and/or what 'membership' you might have.

When you use plug and charge the charge equipment 100% does know what vehicles is there. It's even an ISO standard (ISO 15118-1:2019). I understand that the providers might not want to offer the best discount but Ford could totally negotiate some sort of deal, doesn't need to be 1-1 with the membership.

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